L.A. Pride is a true sports enthusiast. A former youth, and division II assistant basketball coach, who studied the martial arts, he enjoys and follows all sports, even hockey. His quick wit and insight brings a fresh view to the world of sports. You may not always agree with him, but you will enjoy his highly opinionated thoughts.

Is it me…

Or is training camp for the NFL getting ready to start? Follow this link, as

Victor Cruz, receiver, New York Giants who recently signed a multi-million dollar long-term deal with the team, learned the hard way that you can’t un-ring a bell. His comments regarding the Zimmerman verdict were deemed inappropriate and he had some fast and difficult explaining to do.

Cruz implied that ‘street justice’ would eventually take care of Zimmerman, which led many to believe that Cruz was condoning violence. But as anyone who knows Victor, would assure you that is the last thing he would do. However, Cruz had to do some quick backpedaling in several interviews to save face and restore his good name.

Lesson learned, don’t hit the send button until you are 100% sure that is what you want to say.

L.A. Pride is a true sports enthusiast. A former youth, and division II assistant basketball coach, who studied the martial arts, he enjoys and follows all sports, even hockey. His quick wit and insight brings a fresh view to the world of sports. You may not always agree with him, but you will enjoy his highly opinionated thoughts.

Is it me…

Or did we pick the wrong rookie quarterback to win an NFL wild card game? Andrew Luck and RG III the two premiere rookie quarterbacks in the NFL this past season, went down in defeat over the weekend. The Colts and Luck losing to the Ravens, and Redskins and RG III losing to the Seahawks.

The Seahawks who also start a rookie at quarterback, Russell Wilson, are the last team standing with a rookie at the helm.

The match-ups for next week are Seahawks vs. Falcons, Packers vs. 49’ers, Ravens vs. Broncos, and the Texans vs. Patriots. We like the Seahawks, (they are on a roll and are hot. We don’t like the fact that they are traveling cross-country, again to play a game. They should have gone straight to Atlanta and regrouped there, rather than fly from Washington D.C. to Seattle, and then five days later to Atlanta). The 49’ers are just better than the Packers. Although it would be ironic if the Packers win and they end up meeting the Seahawks again. It was a controversial call at the end of their first game that prompted the end of the replacement officials. The Patriots over the Texans. And my upset alert; the Ray Lewis inspired Ravens topping the Broncos. Ray Lewis missed a large part of the season due to an arm injury. He’s back and has announced that this is his last ride talk about drama, Ray would get the Ravens pumped up on a daily basis by just showing up. His retirement notice has the team ready and steady. Great career and good luck Ray.

The Washington Redskins may have lost more than a game this past weekend. RG III appears to have injured his knee, ACL and LCL. It was clear during the game that RG was not himself and shouldn’t have played. Now they have damaged the ‘franchise” to win a game, NOT smart.

Is it me…

Or did Carmelo Anthony of the Knicks get Ghetto? Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics and Carmelo got into an elbow swinging incident on the court that carried over to the locker room and the Celtic’s team bus (KG reportedly said something crude about Carmelo’s wife). Apparently Anthony wanted to throw punches in bunches. Garnett has a reputation for these ‘minor dustups’ and Carmelo got pulled into playing Kevin’s game. You have to be smarter than that Melo. The Knicks end up losing a game to the Celtics, who were without Rajon Rondo (he was suspended for bumping an official.). No way does this make sense for a contender. Be smart Knicks, even when the refs are doing a lousy job of controlling the game.

Can’t we all just get along? The Lakers are losing games and pointing fingers at one another. Now, Dwight Howard, center L.A. Lakers, claims that the Lakers need to get along off the court, if they expect to win games. Please, they need to get younger or install an offense the fits their personnel. Coach D’s quick pace offense is for a young, athletic team- not the Lakers. Kobe and Dwight are heading for a major blowup. We’ll keep our eye on this.

NBA teams are adjusting their rosters. Please follow this link for the latest information on your team:

Or is Hockey back? There is a rumor that the NHL and the players have reached a tentative agreement and will play a 48 game season this year. How will we know they never air hockey on television?

Is it me…

Or does the SEC belong in the NFL? Alabama, a South East Conference, school won the BCS College Football Championship. The SEC has dominated the BCS, winning several recent championships. The final score was Alabama 42; Notre Dame 14, most points ever allowed in a championship bowl series game, enough said. And Coach Saban, Alabama, still didn’t smile. He must be auditioning for a part on Law and Order, SVU.

The only question mark was how many of the Notre Dame fans would still claim to have attended the school?

L.A. Pride is a true sports enthusiast. A former youth, and division II assistant basketball coach, who studied the martial arts, he enjoys and follows all sports, even hockey. His quick wit and insight brings a fresh view to the world of sports. You may not always agree with him, but you will enjoy his highly opinionated thoughts.

Is it me…

Or is that champagne flowing in Miami? The last team to go undefeated in the NFL was the 1972 Miami Dolphins. Several of the players from that team get together and openly root against any team that is challenging that record. When the challenger suffers its first loss the former Dolphins celebrate by toasting each other with champagne. The Atlanta Falconssuffered their first loss of the season, thus kicking off the ‘celebration’. The current Dolphins suffered their worst home defeat to the Titans, 37-3. Go figure.

The Dallas Cowboys may have saved their coach’s, Jason Garrett, job with a win over the Eagles. This was considered a must win for both teams, as there is a slight possibility of catching the NY Giants, who lost to Cincinnati. Michael Vick, the Eagles quarterback, was knocked out of the game with a concussion. Eagle coach, Andy Reid, may have been knocked out of a job with this loss.

(There is a possibility that Reid may end up in San Diego next season.)

The Jets and their coach, Rex Ryan, need to get over it. Insisting that Sanchez is the starting quarterback is similar to naming a seaman to steer the Titanic. It’s over, the ship is sinking.

Or do the Lakers know something that the rest of us don’t? The LA Lakers fired Coach Mike Brown after 5 games and passed over Phil Jackson to hire Mike D’Antoni as their new coach. No offense to D’Antoni, but the last time I looked Phil had eleven championships to D’Antoni’s zero. (Five of those championships were with the Lakers.) Sure Phil was reported to have made some weird demands regarding coaching away games, and shoot arounds. And his salary demands were off the wall, but given his track record and the players respect for him, you bite the bullet.

The Lakers claim that D’Antoni is a better fit, as is his offense, for the current Laker team. Eleven rings seem like a good fit to me!

Mike D. is a great offensive coach, but needs help on defense. Hopefully he will hire a good defensive coach to assist him. It will be interesting to see how these Lakers and this offense will do in the playoffs.

At least, for now, Kobe is on board and that will help. (Bryant, who lived in Italy, wore number 8 in honor of D’Antoni, who was a star in the Italian league.) D’Antoni will miss a few games because he had knee surgery and is not cleared to fly. Great move LA, hire a coach who is on the injured list-an omen.

Is Dwight Howard a kiss of death for coaches? His last two coaches, Van Gundy and Brown, have been unceremoniously fired, and he hasn’t signed an extension with the Lakers. Howard is covering his butt and waiting to see how this plays out. A smart, but selfish mood.

The NY Knicks(D’Antoni’s former team) sought to remain undefeated last night in Orlando. (Results were not available at press time.)

NBA teams are adjusting their rosters. Please follow this link for the latest information on your team:

Or is college football going to self-correct and make it easy for the BCS? The BCS needs to have TWO undefeated teams at the end of the season. Alabama did its part by losing over the weekend. This leaves Kansas State, Oregon, and Notre Dame as the major players for the championship game. Ideally, one of these three loses and the other two remain undefeated for BCS to run smoothly. Any thing else, all three stay undefeated, two of them lose, or all three lose throws the BCS for a loop.

We will keep an eye on this and see how it plays out.

Is it me…

Or did we go to a NASCAR event and a MMA event broke out? Jeff Gordon intentionally slowed his car and waited for Clint Bowyer on the track Sunday to wreck him on what was scheduled to be the final lap. There had been contact between the two a few laps earlier, and Gordon viewed it as the final straw in an apparently escalating on-track feud with Bowyer. This led to a brawl between the two teams.

And they are old enough and mature enough to be licensed drivers?

Is it me…

Or did college basketball sneak up on us? Too many mismatches early in the season as teams look to build their records before conference play begins. Sure there are some competitive teams playing each other, but the smart money is in scheduling The Little Sisters of Charity and pad your record. An extra win now can mean a lot at the end of the season when they are selecting for the tournament.

L.A. Pride is a true sports enthusiast. A former youth, and division II assistant basketball coach, who studied the martial arts, he enjoys and follows all sports, even hockey. His quick wit and insight brings a fresh view to the world of sports. You may not always agree with him, but you will enjoy his highly opinionated thoughts.

Is it me…

Or has Victor Cruz become a real star in the NFL? Trailing the Washington Redskins with less than two minutes to go, the NY Giants put together another rally and defeated he Redskins. The winning play was a 77-yard passing play from Eli Manning to Victor Cruz.

Cruz, a wide receiver, who was not drafted coming out of UMASS has become a real star in the NFL. Victor is a threat to break a game open on any given play, in addition to being a reliable third down option. The Giants need to be smart and lock this talented kid up with a long tem contract. A Ptown boy doing good!

Ahmad Bradshaw, running back, NY Giants, needs to calm down. He nearly gave Cruz a concussion with a slap to the helmet , in addition to getting into a shouting match with the head coach, Tom Coughlin. It’s one thing to be emotional, but you have to keep it under control.

The NY Jetsneed to “go potty” or get off the bowl. It is pretty obvious that quarterback, Mark Sanchez, is not going to get the job done. Why not use Tebow and see what happens, they have nothing to lose, except their losing ways.

The NFL season is approaching the half way mark and Atlanta is still undefeated. Are they for real or just lucky? Right now the Falcons are flying high and appear to be serious. The second half will expose or dispose them for sure.

Or was Dwight Howardcrying at being introduced as a Laker for the first time? After eight years in Orlando and a six-month recovery following back surgery, Dwight Howard finally played his first game as a Laker. Dwight had 19 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocked shots in a losing effort. Welcome back and good luck!

Fans and several Celtics are bad mouthing Ray Allen for leaving Boston and joining Miami in the off-season. Allen made a decision that was in his best interest. He was not in the long-range plans of the Celtics, and he didn’t get along with Rondo, the point guard. (He even took less money leaving Boston.) It made sense for Allen to pack his bags. Ever the class guy he took out a full-page ad thanking the fans and the city of Boston for their love and treatment during his stay there.

Boston, which has replaced Allen, is being petty. They need to wish him well and move on. It will be interesting to watch them meet this season. An all ready tense rivalry has become more tensed.

I am sure the fans would be more understanding if it weren’t Miami and the dreaded Heat.

NBA officials have been asked/told to call the ’Reggie Miller rule‘. That is an offensive foul for players who are shooting the ball and kick out at their opponent drawing contact. Reggie got a ton of four point plays because fouls were called on defenders who were kicked by Reggie as he unleashed a three pointer.

NBA General Managers picked the Heat and the Lakers to meet in the Finals. Can’t argue with that! (Although the Lakers have lost six games in the preseason.)

NBA teams are adjusting their rosters. Please follow this link for the latest information on your team:

Or is Evander really confused? Former boxing heavy weight champ Evander Holyfieldhas announced he will ‘unretire” and box professionally at age 50. Holyfield claims to have been confused when he announced his retirement a couple of weeks ago.

Evander is baffled all right, he must think boxing is like golf, where there is a senior circuit and you compete against people your age – NOT! Evander you will be fighting guys half your age. George Foreman was a spry 45 years old when he won a title. But 50 is definitely AARP territory.

Is it me…

Or is there still baseball being played? The San Francisco Giants down 3 games to 1 came back and won the series 4 games to 3 against the St. Louis Cardinals to win the National league. They will now play in the World Series against the Detroit Tigers, who beat the Yankees in four games to win the American League. They refer to baseball players as the Boys of Summer, but the World Series could be called the Fall Classic.

Is it me …

Or did Tamika catch it all? Congratulations to Tamika Catchings and the Indiana Fever for winning the WNBA championship over the Minnesota Lynx, 3 games to 1.

L.A. Pride is a true sports enthusiast. A former youth, and division II assistant basketball coach, who studied the martial arts, he enjoys and follows all sports, even hockey. His quick wit and insight brings a fresh view to the world of sports. You may not always agree with him, but you will enjoy his highly opinionated thoughts.

Is it me…

Or is Eli Manning asleep during the first half of Giant’s games? Manning threw for 510 yards (295 yards in the second half) and three touchdowns and capped the second greatest passing day by a Giants’ quarterback by setting up Andre Brown’s game-winning 2-yard run with a 50-yard pass that lifted New York to a wild 41-34 victory Sunday over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The game featured four touchdowns in the final 6:48, and ended with some post game squabbling between Giants coach Tom Coughlin and Tampa Bay coach Greg Schiano. Coughlin screamed at the former Rutgers coach after Manning was knocked down on the final play because the Bucs went all out to try to force a fumble on a kneel-down.

The other NY/NJ team, the Jets, reverted to character and scored only ten points in a 27-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Jets have some real issues offensively and will need to address them if they expect to contend this season.

Bounty gate is having more of an effect on the Saints than we originally thought. They are 0-2 and looked confused at times. We had hoped Drew Brees, quarterback, would be able to carry the team on his back, but so far it has been too much even for Drew. It will be interesting to see how this turns out for the New Orleans Saints.

The Philadelphia Eaglesare 2-0, winning both games by a total margin of two points-SKINTIGHT.

The replacement referees are getting worse each week. I know it has only been two weeks of real games, but the refs had all preseason to get it together. Between missed calls, wrong calls, and too many calls they are going to get someone on the field killed. The replacements have lost the respect (not that they ever had it) of the coaches and players. More importantly there are times when they seem to have lost control of games. The NFL is a major product in the U.S. and deserves the best coaches, players, and officials. NFL owners settle with the REAL refs, so we can get back to complaining about ‘good’ officiating.

Peyton Manning, quarterback, Denver Broncos returned to earth after several weeks of doing everything well. Peyton threw three interceptions in the first quarter, misreading the defense and allowing the Atlanta Falcons to win the game.

Or is the injured reserve list a bit crowded in the NBA (and the season hasn’t started)?

Dwight Howard, NBA, L.A. Lakers’ center, the biggest piece in the biggest trade in the NBA recently will miss training camp as he continues to rehab his surgically repaired back. Dwight, who has had trouble making up his mind lately (i.e., did he want to go to the Lakers or the Nets, did he get Van Gundy fired, did he really want to stay in Orlando, etc.) feels he will be ready for the start of the season. The Lakers do not have a timetable in place for his return.

Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls, guard, is also rehabbing an injury, ACL/Knee and is expected to miss a large part of the season. . And even when he returns, it remains to be seen when or even if he’ll regain the explosiveness that made him one of the game’s best players.

Rose tore the ACL late in the Bulls’ playoff-opening win over Philadelphia, a huge setback that sent them spiraling toward a first-round exit after capturing the top seed in the East.

We wish both young men speedy and full recoveries.

NBA teams are adjusting their rosters. Please follow this link for the latest information on your team:

Or do you have to see the entire fight to know who won? I only saw the final round of the Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. versus Sergio Martinez and assumed this round was representative of the fight-Chavez pounding Martinez. Was I ever shocked to learn that Martinez had dominated the fight.

Martinez ended up winning a lopsided unanimous decision to regain the middleweight title. But the 12th-round rally by Chavez was one for boxing lore, reminiscent of a fight his father was in 22 years ago against Meldrick Taylor just a few miles away from the Las Vegas Strip.

“I was 20 seconds away from knocking him out. I started way too late,” Chavez, said. “I didn’t really get started until the eighth round.”

Martinez was quicker, busier and far more accurate as he won round after round, piling up points as Chavez struggled to do much against him. Martinez said before the fight he didn’t consider Chavez a true champion and vowed to give him a beating he would long remember.

He did just that, to the point where trainer Freddie Roach told Chavez after the 10th round he was going to stop the fight if he didn’t do something spectacular.

“He fought a great fight and he was a lot tougher than I expected,” Martinez said. “He showed great heart.”

Martinez won 118-110 on two ringside scorecards and 117-110 on the third. Two judges had him winning every round until the 12th, while the third gave him only one round. The Associated Press had Martinez winning 118-110.

Chavez lost for the first time, falling to 46-1-1, while Martinez improved to 50-2-2.

Apparently Chavez woke up later than I did for the fight..

Is it me…

Or must I say something good about baseball?

The American League East has three teams, the Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, and the Tampa Bay Rays locked in a dogfight for the title. Amazing, they have played over 140 games and are within 4 or 5 games of each other. It like running a marathon and three guys are sprinting to the finish line.

Or is there another lockout in the National Hockey League? It seems that the NHL owners would rather lose another season than negotiate with the players. It worked the last time for owners. Only in hockey do they make three billon dollars and can’t find a way to split it. Brain Freeze!!!!!

Is it me…

Or is with great sadness we note the death of Lucy Molina, the grandmother of Victor Cruz, wide receiver, NY Giants. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.

L.A. Pride is a true sports enthusiast. A former youth, and division II assistant basketball coach, who studied the martial arts, he enjoys and follows all sports, even hockey. His quick wit and insight brings a fresh view to the world of sports. You may not always agree with him, but you will enjoy his highly opinionated thoughts.

Is it me…

Or is it weird how certain Olympic Athletesfare after the games? Michael Phelps will make about 7 million dollars in endorsements, Gabby Douglas will earn 2.5 million, and Usain Bolt over 10 million. The Redeem Team , men’s basketball was millionaires before they came to London. Yet, the Tae Kwon Do participants, the Judo players, along with most of the athletes will go home and back to work. Yes work, not all the Olympic gold medal winners get an opportunity to cash in. Many are just thrilled to have participated. And winning was the cherry on top. I know , I am being naïve, but that has a nice feel to it.

A test for you, can you name the swimmer who won several gold medals, but refuses to cash in on her success, because she wants to swim in high school and college and therefore must remain an amateur? I hope you didn’t miss her story. That’s truly Olympic gold.

If you must know, you may follow this link to the Final Medal count by country:

Or did Chad Johnson miss Ocho Cinco this weekend? Chad Ocho Cinco changed his name back to Chad Johnson and married Evelyn Lozado (Basketball Wives). He did so at her request. She also requested that the police arrest her new husband on a domestic violence charge stemming from a head-butting incident between them.

Chad was released on bail, and immediately dropped by the Miami Dolphins. Additionally, his new reality show, Ev and Ocho was cancelled before it was aired. Evelyn has reportedly filed for a divorce after one month of marriage.

Coach Philbin, Miami Dolphins, claims it was the body of work that resulted in Chad being dropped. According to the Coach, Johnson was warned about his behavior early in the process, and he chose not to live up to his end of the deal. You have to ask yourself, if this were “The Ocho Cinco” of five years ago would the Dolphins have been so quick to drop him? Probably not! You are only as good as your last catch.

The Oakland Raiders lost an exhibition game to the Cowboys by the score of 3-0. It is a sad commentary when two former great teams can only score 3 points between them. How far have the mighty fallen! The Cowboys are a .500 team over their last 240 or so games. Hard to believe, unless you are a Cowboy’s fan.

(Chad’s an offensive player and he’s available. What do you think Jerry Jones?)

Do the Jets really think it is necessary to clear the field when they practice the wildcat offense? The wildcat has been around for a while and I am sure other teams have seen it. So all this secrecy is a bit much.

The players and the coaches in the NFL have finally agreed upon something…The replacement referees are horrible. The new refs are lost and don’t have a clue how to control an NFL game. The players are too fast and big for these amateurs. Someone is gong to be hurt due to their incompetence.

What is really scary is that they might actually referee games that count. The owners have once again demonstrated that they are more interested in saving money than the safety of the players.

The rookie quarterbacks, Luck and RG III looked good in their respective preseason games. We’ll keep our eye on them.

Or was Dwight Howard ending up a Laker a forgone conclusion? It was pretty well known that Howard was not going to play for Orlando this upcoming season. The question was, how do you get him on a contender-gotta keep it interesting. Well it took four teams to do it but they found a contender – the Lakers, who always had the edge over Broolkyn. (Dwight had his surgery where and was recovering where?) Oh well the rich get richer. And Kobe Bryant still has some pull. He said Gasol was going to be a Laker as long as he (Kobe) was a Laker. Guess who wasn’t included in any of the trades, Gasol.

NBA teams are adjusting their rosters. Please follow this link for the latest information on your team:

Or is Tiger Woodsbeginning to sound like a broken record (okay a broken CD). He has an excuse and reason each time he blows an opportunity to win a major tournament. Tiger was tied for the lead at the PGA, and looked to be in great shape to win his 15th major, but his third round never got going, posting a 2-over 74 to fall out of the lead.

Woods told reporters “Yesterday I think I came out with the wrong attitude, I was too relaxed, just trying to enjoy it, and that’s not how I play.”

It’s rare to hear Tiger be critical to the public, but at least he admitted that his approach wasn’t right for the final 36 holes.

L.A. Pride is a true sports enthusiast. A former youth, and division II assistant basketball coach, who studied the martial arts, he enjoys and follows all sports, even hockey. His quick wit and insight brings a fresh view to the world of sports. You may not always agree with him, but you will enjoy his highly opinionated thoughts.

Is it me…

Or will Great Britain have to wait at least another year to have a Brit win the men’s single title at Wimbledon? Roger Federer defeated Andy Murray, thus making it 76 years without a homegrown men’s champ at Wimbledon.

Is it me…

Or was it embarrassing for Murray to lose to someone from Switzerland (Federer)? The country hasn’t fought a war in 20 billion years. They are the ultimate pacifists AND you lose to them? I guess this falls under the ‘no touch’ rule. If the rules don’t allow you to touch your opponent during the game, then it is not really a sporting event, e. g. tennis, golf, swimming, track and field. Okay you don’t have too touch to be a sport. But if you do, ‘softies’ lose.

Is it me…

Or did Serena Williams have a good weekend, winning the singles and doubles championships, with her sister, Venus, at Wimbledon? That makes five Wimbledon titles, in addition to fourteen majors for Serena. Go Girl!!!!

Is it me…

Or did Tiger have a bad weekend missing the cut in West Virginia and heading home early? Which Tiger is for real?

Is it me…

Or is claiming Anderson Silvafought dirty in his UFC win over Chael Sonnen like giving out speeding tickets at the Indy 500? Mixed Martial Arts is ‘dirty fighting”. Just enough rules to keep the participants from maiming one another.

Is it me…

Or does anyone care that Wladimir Klitscho, the Heavyweight boxing champ, retained his title with a sixth round stoppage of Tony Thompson?

Once the most prestigious title in sports; the heavyweight boxing title is now a victim of boxing’s greed and suspect participants. Every fight is for a title, i.e. the boys and girl club super light chubby division, or something to that effect. And you only need to have a win or two to get a shot at the ‘chumpion’

Is it me…

Or is the NFL a bit quiet again this week? A not so quiet, Adrian Peterson, of the Minnesota Viking, was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor for resisting arrest. Peterson allegedly pushed an off-duty police officer in a club, after he, Peterson was asked to leave at closing time in Houston, Texas.

Peterson has hired high profile attorney, Rusty Hardin, who recently won the Roger Clemmons perjury trial, to defend him.

I know boys will be boys, but Peterson is supposed to be rehabbing his knee which was severely damaged at the end of last season. Why is he trying to close the club? Go out early and leave early!!!!!

Drew Brees , New Orleans Saints quarterback, has about a week to come up with a long term deal or he plays this year under the franchise tag or sits out the year. My guess is the Saints and Brees will kiss and makeup before the deadline. The Saints need some good news, after ‘bounty gate’ and what better way than to ‘hook up ‘ their most popular player.

Or is there a lot of movement and activity in the New York NBA free agency market? The Brooklyn Nets are still trying to acquire Dwight Howard. They are currently working, as of press time, on a four-team deal to get Howard. (The teams involved are the Nets, the Magic, the Cavs, and the Clippers.) Is Howard worth the price? The Nets will probably lose Lopez and Humphries if they can get Howard. Deron Williams has agreed to re-sign with the Nets and they also acquired Joe Johnson, formerly of Atlanta.

The other NY team, the Knicks, has been busy also. They have re-signed J. R. Smith and Steve Novak, (Novak was the recipient of a very favorable ruling by an arbitrator, regarding the salary cap.) The Knicks also completed a sign and trade with Houston, allowing the Knicks to pick up Marcus Camby in exchange for Tony Douglas, and two other players. Camby will most likely back up Chandler and Stoudemire.

Speaking of the Knicks and Houston; there is still the issue of Jeremy Lin. Houston has offered a loaded contract to Lin. One that far exceeds his play last year. However, Houston has a special relationship with the Asian community, due to Yao Ming’s playing days there. Now the Knicks must decide if they are going to match this crazy contract. Lin was the hottest thing out there last year before his injury, but this contract … Lin, also, would not hurt the Knick’s salary cap because of the previous mentioned ruling. Is Linsanity worth the $$$$$$$$. Additionally, the Knicks signed Jason Kidd, supposedly as a back-up. But given the Lin contract he may be forced into the role of starter. At his age that might be a bit much.

Kobe Bryant, at age 34, is playing on the latest version of The Dream Team. It is hard to believe that he has 17 years in league and is still going strong.

I am amazed that it takes a profile college Basketball coach, Coach K, of Duke, to handle the dream team and their egos. Oh well, you do what you gotta do to win. Do I see another gold medal? Yea, GO USA!

NBA teams are adjusting their rosters. Please follow this link for the latest information on your team:

Or is A-Rod too sensitive? The New York Yankees have told Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson to stay away from the team this summer. Jackson recently was quoted by Sports Illustrated as saying some of Rodriguez’s statistics were tainted because the Yankees star had admitted using performance-enhancing drug. Jackson has/had a non-descript public relations job with the Yankees.

L.A. Pride is a true sports enthusiast. A former youth, and division II assistant basketball coach, who studied the martial arts, he enjoys and follows all sports, even hockey. His quick wit and insight brings a fresh view to the world of sports. You may not always agree with him, but you will enjoy his highly opinionated thoughts.

Is it me…

Or is Tiger playing with us? One day after spectators were barred from the golf course because of debris from a violent storm. They were treated to a real whirlwind named Tiger Woods.

Woods spent 2010 and 2011 trying to rebound from personal upheaval, injury and a major swing change. He looked like a very old 36 as this season began, but over the last four months he’s won tournaments hosted by Arnold Palmer (Bay Hill) and Nicklaus (Memorial), and now Woods has again won the AT&T, the tournament that he hosts and brought to D.C. He’s healthy; he’s practicing; he’s winning.

Woods, who at one point, went 41 holes without a bogey to win the Congressional Golf Tournament in Maryland. It was isthird win of the season and 74th. overall, moving pass Jack Nickaluus into 2nd place , 8 behind San Snead for overall PGA wins.

Is this the REAL tiger or the FAKE Tiger? We won’t know until his next tournament. He sure knows how to make golf exciting, one way or the other. Granted none of his wins this season have been majors, but who else has won three tournaments?

The NFL has decided to relax the blackout rule, which is good news for the average fan in an NFL town. According to the league, teams now have the option to sell 85 percent in order to avoid a blackout, as opposed to needing a full-blown sellout in order to avoid the blackout. In other words a team, which has sold 85% of its tickets, may show the game on local TV. Good news for the fan that can’t afford tickets. (Please note that this is optional and the team has the right to show or not show the game.)

The arbitrator has ruled in favor of Drew Breesin his grievance with the Saints over franchise-tag designation. Show Drew the money!

Is it me…

Or is Dwight Howard’s house up for sale? Dwight Howard has reportedly told the Orlando Magic that he will only sign a long-term extension with one team- The Brooklyn Nets.

Howard who said he was ‘blackmailed’ into signing last year with the Magic, was quite firm in his decision to be traded to the Nets, in spite of being linked to trade talks with the Lakers or Mavericks. Additionally, the Nets have reportedly made a deal with the Atlanta Hawks for Joe Johnson, which would severely limit the Nets ability to pay Howard, unless they gut their remaining roster.

Howard still has a year left on his commitment to the Magic. However, if the Magic do not trade him this upcoming season, they risk losing him for nothing to free agency. (We all remember how well that worked for the Magic when they let Shaq walk away.)

Did I miss something in Orlando, It seemed like a nice place to live?

The Boston Celtics have signed Kevin Garnett to an extension, 3 years. Garnett played extremely well during the playoffs and at times carried Boston.

Ray Allen, a free agent formerly with Celtics, and the Heat are in discussions regarding Allen opting to bring his talent to South Beach. Boston has not given up on re-signing Ray and appears ready to bring everyone back for one more run at another title.

Jeremy Lin back to the Knicks may not be the lock it appears to be. Another team may offer Lin a back loaded contract offering a huge amount of money in the last years of the contract. If the Knicks were to match such a contract they would have several players (Chandler, Anthony, Stoudemire, and Lin) with big pay days in the final year(s) of their contracts coming up, this would easily push them above the salary cap. Note, that the new collective bargaining agreement is extremely harsh on those teams above the cap.

The Knicks have to think about what is best for the franchise now and in the future. These poison-pill contracts can jam up the salary cap of a team for years and years. It took the Knicks a long time to get out from under the salary cap curse.

Toronto Raptors have offered Steve Nash, a Canadian, the keys to the northern kingdom if he so desires. He won’t win a championship, but he’ll have plenty of Canadian dollars to spend in the underground mall. Steve, please wait a day or two, a contender will call!

UH-oh department: New Orleans power forward Anthony Davis, the No. 1 pick in last week’s NBA draft, suffered a sprained ankle in a Hornets workout Saturday that may eliminate him from consideration for the Summer Olympics in London. The Hornets confirmed Davis’ injury in a statement, saying he was day to day. Please don’t catch the Greg Odon injury disease.

Speaking of Odom, Lamar is thrilled at being able to return to L.A., albeit the Clippers. The Mavericks were able to arrange a deal which allowed the ‘Candy-Man’ to return to LA LA land.

NBA teams are moving into the free agency period and are adjusting their rosters. Please follow this link for the latest information on your team:

Or did Major League Baseball make a mistake letting a retired manager, La Russa manage the 2012 All-Star game? Apparently La Russa still harbors grudges against certain players and teams and is exacting revenge by snubbing players who deserve to be all-stars. In the other major sports this would not be so damaging, as the all-star game is a ‘meaningless’ exhibition game. However, in baseball, the game determines who has home field in the World Series.

What were they thinking?

Is it me…

Or did U.S.A. Track and Field get slapped in the face? Tarmoh and Felix were ruled to have finished in a tie for third place in the women’s 100 meters final. A runoff was scheduled between them to secure the final spot for the100 meters team.

Jeneba Tarmoh conceded the final Olympic spot in the 100 meters rather than race against training partner Allyson Felix.

Tarmoh notified USA Track and Field on Monday of her decision. Her agent, Kimberly Holland, already made it known that Tarmoh would not participate in a runoff Monday night to settle a third-place tie at the U.S. track trials.

In an email sent through her agent to USATF, Tarmoh said: “I understand that with this decision I am no longer running the 100m dash in the Olympic Games and will be an alternate for the event.”

Tarmoh, who felt all along she had won the race on June 23, did not specify in her statement why she was giving up a chance to possibly run the 100 in London.

USATF president Stephanie Hightower said the organization was “disappointed” Tarmoh had a change of heart.

L.A. Pride is a true sports enthusiast. A former youth, and division II assistant basketball coach, who studied the martial arts, he enjoys and follows all sports, even hockey. His quick wit and insight brings a fresh view to the world of sports. You may not always agree with him, but you will enjoy his highly opinionated thoughts.

Is it me…

Or is time for The Summer Olympic Games? Two weeks ago there was gymnastics on television. This past weekend there was platform and springboard diving, in addition to track and field on television. Lastly, we saw an ad announcing swimming trials.

These are all great sports, but it is rare that we see them on national television in non-Olympic years. Let the games begin in London!

Is it me …

Or should we not mention London, England around Venus Williams? Five-time champion Venus Williams was eliminated from Wimbledon in straight sets on opening day, by E. Vesnina, of Russia. Williams who was not seeded, had never lost an opening round match at Wimbledon since her debut there 15 years ago.

Williams, who suffers from an autoimmune disease, appeared sluggish and out of rhythm.

Venus plans on playing doubles with her kid sister, Serena. She should do better having to worry about only half the court.

Is it me…

Or is LeBron the toast of the NBA…now? Since winning the NBA Championship last week, and the Playoff MVP award all we see is a smiling LeBron. Granted he carried the team on his back, but he did have some help. Wade, Bosh and the rest of the crew did a nice job shutting down the Thunder.

A recent survey asked fans if they were happy for LeBron? 70% said they were not. Haters or fans that dislike LeBron, for what, taking a better job. How many of us have left a job for a better opportunity?

And as hard as it is to win a championship, most feel it is harder to repeat. The Heat will have to qualify next year, as they did this year, out of the east. And that will be tough!!!!!! Chicago will be back and if they remain injury free a tough out; the Celtics sound as if they are going to retool and keep Garnett around, although Garnett and Allen will test free agent market (the Heat have already expressed an interest in Ray Allen); and the Mike Woodson may have a decent team in NY, after he explains the concept of teamwork and defense to them.

Your 8 championships may take a while LeBron. We wish you well and congrats on your championship.

The NBA draft is just around the corner. We’ll have a better picture of next year after the draft and free agency. By the way, speaking of the Knicks, the arbitrator ruled that Lin and Novack could get decent raises and not have it count against the salary cap. This would allow the Knicks to use their midlevel exception to sign a really good free agent. HMMMMM, Are you looking down the road Dwight? One year at small change and then cash in. Manhattan is right next to Brooklyn. And the Knicks get a lot more press than the Nets. The Knicks could move one of their bigs to get Dwight Howard to come to Broadway. Just thinkin’!

Oh yeah, guaranteed, if the Nets don’t make a big move they will not sign Deron Williams. Williams has reportedly narrowed his choices to Dallas and the Brooklyn Nets. Now as I see it , Dallas is one player away, point guard, from being a serious contender again, and what position does Deron play? Plus there is no state income tax in Texas; you keep more of your money Deron.

Larry Birdis leaving the Pacers. He was in charge of basketball operations. It is not clear as to what Larry Legend plans to do in the future. We can only hope that he stays in basketball. Larry is the only person to win player of the year, coach of the year and executive of the year in the NBA.

“Is the league going to come down on their own people when someone does something so wrong and outrageous?” Shockey said. “There should be a standard for punishment, like getting suspended or fined or losing your job. If I say something about officials, the league fines me.”

“This guy says something about me that’s not true and that he’s not supposed to say and what happens? Nothing. You’d think they would have done something to check it out.”

Later, Sapp ran into Shockey and tried to make things right.

“I saw Jeremy about a week after it all went down at a Heat game … and I told him, I said, ‘I apologize for putting it on the street level and making it derogatory towards you,'” Sapp said, “The information that was passed to me, I stand by my source, but I hate that I put it on a level, that wasn’t the way it should be. … That’s what I apologized for, because I put it on a way lower level than it should’ve been. It was something serious that never shoulda went on and stuff like that. So that’s the problem I have with myself and what I said to him.”

“The two times I’ve seen him I haven’t had a problem with him, but if he does we can go out in the grass and get it over with,” he said. “… I don’t have a problem with getting my knuckles a little scarred up.”

Now, to be fair, I have no idea if Sapp was kidding when he said that last part, but Sapp once challenged a coach to put on some pads and get out there on the field against him. This has the makings of a pro wrestling event.

Or is there going to be a playoff in the future of college football? The BCS commissioners are set to present a proposal to the presidential oversight committee. The plan to be presented would go into effect during the 2014 season. Under the proposal, national semifinals would be played on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day. The sites for those games will rotate among the four current BCS games — Rose, Sugar, Orange and Fiesta — and possibly another bowl or two.

The national championship game would be played about 10 days later at another neutral site. The title game site would be bid on the way the NFL handles where the Super Bowl is played. Any city that can pay the multimillion-dollar tab and accommodate a huge event could potentially host college football’s championship game, including those that don’t currently host bowl games.

The plan also calls for college football’s final four to be determined by a selection committee, though who will be on that committee and how big it will be is to be determined. Sounds like a plan.

L.A. Pride is a true sports enthusiast. A former youth, and division II assistant basketball coach, who studied the martial arts, he enjoys and follows all sports, even hockey. His quick wit and insight brings a fresh view to the world of sports. You may not always agree with him, but you will enjoy his highly opinionated thoughts.

Is it me …

Or did the maintenance crew at the Staples Center need a program to know which floor to set up? Three teams played six games in 80 hours at the Staples Center in Los Angeles this past week. The Lakers, Clippers and Kings were all involved in playoff games. At one point during the Thunder –Lakers basketball game, the floor was so slippery, from having the ice (Kings) underneath it, that players were slipping and sliding. Not very safe, but they made money and Los Angeles got its sports’ fix. The city of L.A. was 0-4 over the weekend and 2-0 before Saturday.

Is it me…

Or does “I’ll Have Another” have a legitimate shot at the triple crown? The Triple Crown quest brought some tantalizingly close calls since Affirmed turned back Alydar in the Derby, Preakness and Belmont 34 years ago – the longest drought between Triple Crown champions.

The Belmont, the final hurdle, of the triple crown is the race that usually prevents a horse from getting the crown, because of the length of the race, a mile and one half.

Regardless, he’s worth a $2 bet to win.

Is it me…

Or did Jon Jones, MMA light heavy weight champion, get confused when he was ask to bend the elbow? UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence early Saturday morning in upstate. According to the Broome County Sheriff’s Office, Jones was arrested at 5:02 a.m. after suffering “minor injuries” following a one-car accident where his car struck a pole. Sheriff’s office officials refused to comment on whether there were any passengers in the car with Jones at the time of the accident.

Is it me…

Or are the Golden State Warriorsdemonstrating a desire to upgrade their franchise?

The Golden State Warriors, NBA, will move from Oakland to San Francisco, according to online reports. Joe Lacob, the team’s owner, has been clear with his desire to move the team.

The Warriors currently play in Oracle Arena, the oldest arena in the NBA. The team plans for the arena to be privately funded, opening prior to the 2017-18 season.

Typically, teams hold cities hostage with a threat move and get the city to help finance a new arena. The Warriors are committed to moving just across the bridge and expect to be competitive in the free agent market. Several free agents were interested in the Warriors, but were turned off by the facilities in Oakland. Now their only excuse will be the sorry play of the Warriors.

Is it me…

Or is Dwight Howard smiling right now? Stan Van Gundy was fired as the Orlando Magic coach after five years. Stan a constant complainer never missed the playoffs with the Magic (General Manager Smith was also let go) and is considered a good coach. However his style and personality were considered counter-productive and rubbed many of the players, i.e., Dwight Howard, the wrong way.

Is it me…

Or do we want to look at the NBA playoffs?

Western Conference

L.A. Clippers vs. San Antonio Spurs

Clippers are swept in four games, as San Antonio continues to dominate, with “old” players. Popovich deserved the Coach of the Years award . It is nice to see the writers get it right and award the trophy to the right person. Who remembers the last time the Spurs lost?

L.A. Lakersvs. Oklahoma City Thunder

The Lakers were eliminated Monday night by the Thunder, four games to one. Sorry Kobe you’re not catching Michael this year. (In fairness to Kobe, he went down fighting, scoring 42 points in defeat.)

Eight people were injured by gunfire in Oklahoma City after the game. These ‘fans’ have been watching too many soccer games.

Bon Voyage to the Staples Center as both L.A. teams have been eliminated.

Eastern Conference

Philadelphia 76’ers vs. Boston Celtics

Boston leads the series three games to two, after a convincing win Monday night over the 76’ers. It is age and experience (Boston) versus youth and speed (Philly) with the old guys doing okay.

Indianapolis Pacers vs. Miami Heat

Miami Leads the series 3-2. LeBron James has been fantastic during the playoffs and has single handedly carried the Heat in this series. His play during game four was near perfect and he put on a clinic.

Or did Lawrence Taylor’ son have a profitable weekend? Lawrence Taylor, the retired linebacker for the N.Y. Giants gave his son one of his Super Bowl rings (XXV) and little Taylor auctioned it off for $230,000 (twice the estimated vale.) Big Taylor reportedly had no knowledge that the ring was being sold. His agent informed him of the sale.

Current Giants player Osi Umenyiora, had promised to buy the ring and return it to LT. Regrettably, that didn’t work out and it was sold to an anonymous person.

Is little Taylor going into the sport’s memorabilia business? He can start by selling all of his father’s stuff, helmet, pads, cleats, jock, crack pipe, etc., etc.

Is it me…

Or is Floyd Mayweather going to have plenty of commissary? Floyd, who is scheduled to report to the county jail, June 1, to serve time for a domestic violence charge, made 32 million dollars for his fight against Cotto. Not a bad payday!